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Review: Caroni 1997 (Aka Ron Sherbrooke Private Cask) Rum

The Ron Sherbrooke, “Drink Like a Pirate” Rum Festival is was held on September 19 at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta. Nineteen liquor agencies put up tables, and all told over sixty rums were poured. The event went off without a hitch, and everyone I saw left the evening happy, (and full of rum). And it wasn’t just the wide selection of rums which was impressive, it was also the quality of the selection that was special. Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva, Flor de Caña 18 Year Centenario Gold, and the Ron Zacapa 23 Solero were just a few of the Premium Rums available to be tasted. Ron Abuelo, Bacardi, and Mount Gay were all there. Of course, I cannot name everyone but you get the idea. The first ever full fledged rum festival in Edmonton, Alberta was a big success!

One rum really caught my eye at the festival, I guess you could call it the ‘signature rum’ of the event. A Single Cask Rum from the departed Ron Caroni Distillery of Trinidad and Tobago. This rum was bottled for a local collective of stores called, the Signature Group and at the festival it was labelled, Ron Sherbrooke-Private Stock, Caroni 1997 – 13 year old Dark Rum.

I was intrigued enough that after the Rum Festival I decided I should provide a review of this signature rum. The kind folks at Sherbrooke Liquor, provided me a sample and the review is now complete.

I will be honest with you and say that I do not know a lot about wine, I drink some Port now and then, but that’s about it. So the way that wines obtain their taste profiles is never something I have considered. Rum obtains if flavour in a variety of ways, but at its most basic, a rums flavour is determined by the distillation and by wood aging. The flavours that are remaining after distillation are a function of the type of distillate, (molasses versus cane juice versus the actual variety of cane used) and the type of distillation (different stills seem to create different flavour with the small copper pot still seemingly able to create the most robust flavour). Then wood aging will impart its flavour to the distillate over time. Different types of oak impart different flavours.